


You and I will stand and fight, our backs to the wall

by Corentine_Noctua



Series: The Future We Create [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bee Chloé Bourgeois | Queen Bee, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, Fox Alya Césaire | Rena Rouge, Gabriel Agreste is a terrible father (and also a terrorist), Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Lila Rossi Being a Jerk, Peacock Nathalie Sancoeur | Mayura, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Turtle Nino Lahiffe | Carapace, but like in the background - Freeform, not beta read we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23794222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corentine_Noctua/pseuds/Corentine_Noctua
Summary: After the heroes disappeared, Paris was left fractured. But, like a kaleidoscope, each angle showed something different.-A series of short chapters on the aftermath of the reveal of Ladybug, Chat Noir and Hawk Moth's identities.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: The Future We Create [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710064
Comments: 29
Kudos: 140





	1. Gabriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a series that starts with the one-shot "For now, it's time to run", so if you didn't read that, I must advise you to do so in order to understand what's going on.
> 
> Hello, everyone! I've returned, faster than I thought I was capable, with this - whatever the heck this is.
> 
> Okay, so, technically this isn't a sequel, but it covers the immediate aftermath of the akuma battle that caused the reveal and also shows some stuff that happened shortly after Marinette and Adrien left Paris with Master Fu and Marianne. Each chapter will cover the point of view of one or two different characters, sometimes it will be focused in mental-ranting, sometimes memories and sometimes it will be more focused in action, there isn't really a pattern. i just followed my gut and took the path that seemed to tell the story better.
> 
> An important detail: some of you might have noticed the rating of both works in the series went from "general audiences" to "teen and up audiences" and that's because I am simply incapable of expressing strong emotions without some curses. I'm sorry, I'm not that good a writer.
> 
> And finally, much like my last work, this is not beta read, so it's likely that there are grammar mistakes in this and I would appreciate it if you mentioned them to me in the comments so I can fix them. English is also not my first language, so if you read something that doesn't sound right, it probably isn't, please tell me so I can fix it.
> 
> Title inspired by the song "Hero", by Pegboard Nerds and Elizaveta

Gabriel Agreste is of the opinion that there are two types of people in the world: Good and bad. Nathalie once made the mistake of asking him how he could categorize people so simply, in her early days as his assistant.

“What are you trying to imply, Mlle. Sancoeur?”

“It just seems to me that trying to make things sound plainer than they really are is an overall bad decision, monsieur.”

“I am a bad man, Mlle. Sancoeur. I make bad decisions all the time, but it’s the results of the decisions that matter to me.”

“And what have been the results of this decision so far, monsieur?” She asked, with a bit of the antagonizing spark that led him to hire her in the first place. “I can’t imagine it doing you any good.”

He smiled at her, an expression few people got to see and even fewer got to consider pleasant.

“You’re right, of course. The results have made me an even worse individual.”

She didn’t look the slightest bit convinced, instead regarding him as one would regard an overly dramatic teenager, but the man didn’t really care about her opinion all that much. Natalie was not a good person, she was bad, but they weren’t on the same side back then and he could stand more than some scrutinizing glares from afar.

Don’t take him wrongly. Gabriel doesn’t think people are born good or bad; he knows that what happens to them during the course of their lives has something to do with the type of person they turn out to be. It has to, because if it doesn’t, then what happened to Emilie meant nothing and he would have become a terrible man anyway. No, the things that happened to him made him Hawk Moth; it’s final.

He knows Ladybug and Chat Noir are good, even if they’re just some bratty teenagers. That they fight him because he’s evil and that’s what good people do. They’re like that because they were raised right, and had the right opportunities, friends, and family to support their good decisions. They’re like that because nothing bad enough happened to them in order to make them evil.

And Gabriel’s okay with that. He feels terrible for being the one those kids have to fight, but he’s not a good man and that means he doesn’t have to resign himself to doing good things only. Making decent people miserable is what malevolent people do, and he already proved he’s damn good at it.

He tries not to think of how young the local superheroes are, how they personally put themselves in harm’s way while he sends other people to fight for him, how they’re probably around Adrien’s age. If he thinks about those details for too long, he’ll start having second thoughts, and those only lead to regrets, which make people want to be better, and that means he’d want to be a good person. He can’t afford being a better person. It won’t lead him to achieving what he wants.

Gabriel just wants his wife back, but he’s of the opinion that Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn’t understand, because they didn’t know her, and they wouldn’t know what it felt like to lose her.

That opinion changes, however, as soon as he watches Chat Noir’s mask vanish, along with his suit, and baton, and unnatural green eyes. He’s left staring at the face of his son, who did very much lose a mother, lose _Emilie_ , and certainly knows what it feels like.

They’re on the street, standing in the middle of the akuma’s destruction. Ouroboros has the ability to reveal people’s true selves, but for that to work on Miraculous holders, he needed the direct influence of the Butterfly Miraculous. Normally, Hawk Moth would have avoided that risk, but lately the superhero duo had been getting on his nerves, and he suspected they had a lead on his identity, so he decided to take the chance to retaliate, not only with the akuma, but by fighting them himself.

That backfired spectacularly when Ladybug decided self-preservation is for the weak and grabbed onto his arm like a goddamn plague at the same time the akuma zeroed in on her.

The few seconds after that are strange, to say the least. Adrien looks at him like he’s asking himself if what he sees is a product of his imagination. He whispers the word “Père” under his breath and, for the first time in his life, looks like he doesn’t want his father to answer. Gabriel doesn’t, as usual, but Adrien looks hurt anyway.

A spark of sudden comprehension lights the boy’s features, and he looks at the girl standing in Ladybug’s place. Gabriel does too, and if he’s startled when he recognizes her face from somewhere, then he can only imagine how his son feels when he meets her vivid blue eyes.

“Mari…” he hears Adrien mutter, but she doesn’t pay him mind, as she’s too busy staring at Gabriel to say anything, too shocked to even keep her death-like grip on his right arm. The spark of recognition in her expression is too close for comfort. She looks at him as if she knows him, not from TV or magazines, but _personally_. More than that, she looks at him like she knows how horrible a person he is.

It’s such a reversal from the way Adrien looked that it’s enough to bring him back to the moment. He’s struck with the realization of what kind of situation he’s about to face. Akuma attacks are always televised, and someone’s bound to recognize him.

Calling his transformation to run away comes almost as second nature, and he leaves both the familiar girl and his son behind.

He’s got more important matters to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I know it's very short and confusing and I apologize for the lack of dialogue, but honestly, writing Gabriel is a Pain; I had to write this because of Plot Purpose Reasons, but I promise it gets better once we get to the younger characters.  
> The next chapter should be out later this week. I originally planned this to have seven chapters, but that might change if I decide to add a point of view (unlikely, but not impossible).
> 
> So, this is it. Thanks for reading and, once again, feel free to point out any mistakes you might've spotted while reading.


	2. Nathalie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nathalie goes by the motto "do no harm, but take no shit" except she ignores the first part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who left comments and kudos on the first chapter and everyone who bookmarked this story. Seriously, you're all the best and you make this worth it.
> 
> Second, this chapter might not seem important, but you'll understand why I had to include it when I post the next one. Trust me.
> 
> Again, feel free to point out any mistakes you might spot while reading. I hope you like it.  
> P.S.: the person who manages to spot the parallels I included in this chapter's akuma gets to make a writing request. Let the games begin ;)

Nathalie Sancoeur is not the type to exaggerate things. She hates hyperboles and anyone who overestimates life. She’s proud to say she has no illusions on the way things are, and is satisfied to verify she’s doing pretty well and got pretty far with this mindset, thank you very much.

As someone who hates overstating facts, she can tell you with absolute certainty that she is not inflating anything when she says Hawk Moth looks utterly terrifying when he bursts into the mostly empty office building. He storms through the dark hallway in her direction, clearly less than pleased after having his identity exposed for all of Paris, if not all of France, to see.

Logically, she knows his suit isn’t a darker purple than before, and that his eyes aren’t glowing with barely contained anger, but it still feels that way for her.

“Nathalie, I need you to find Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now.”

“All news channels lost track of them as soon as they transformed and ducked into an alleyway near the place where- monsieur?”

He’s holding a white butterfly produced from his cane, she notices, and a mere whisper is enough to make it dark. Nathalie isn’t stupid, she knows what he’s about to do. She just wonders whether he’ll have the guts to _ask her permission_ or if he’s going to act like the abusive coward he is.

Sue her, she holds no respect for someone who’s willing to personally go to an akuma fight in order to physically attack children. Nathalie knows that Adrien’s eighteen _now_ , but they’ve been at this for five years and the boy sure wasn’t eighteen back when this whole nightmare began.

_“Mlle. Sancoeur, will you accept this akuma and look for Ladybug and Chat Noir in my name?”_

Ah, there it is. The butterfly took place in her glasses during her mental rant and the voice that asks her the question is invading her mind. Half a coward, then, for asking her permission but not bothering to do it _before_ akumatizing her. Not that it matters much now, she doesn’t have much of a choice when her life, her job and her integrity are at stake.

“Yes, Hawk Moth.”

“Then go, Argus, find them and bring them to me.”

Nathalie cringes at the name appropriated from Greek myth. Then cringes even more once she notices he doesn’t ask for the Miraculous, but for the heroes themselves. _Oh, well._ She might not have a choice on the matter of obeying him, but she can always do the shittiest job she can muster just to make it harder for him. Plus, he asked for Ladybug and Chat Noir, which means that, technically, she can avoid his orders if the kids aren’t transformed.

Also, a pro of knowing the wielder of the Butterfly Miraculous and his limitations is having some semblance of control over how your akumatized form will look like. That’s probably why most of them are an absolute eyesore, in fact. _If you want to call me Argus_ , she thinks, _then have your damn titan peacock_.

Yes, most akumas were a complete mess of colors, shapes, sizes and overall fashion, but none of the previous akumas – not even Style Queen – were more colorful or more attention demanding than the 10 meter-tall giant woman called Argus and the fifty pairs of eyes she had on the peacock feathers attached to her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods, I love writing morally gray Nathalie. Almost as much as I love writing agressive-passive Chloé (you'll see what I mean when the time is right)
> 
> Don't forget: the person who manages to spot the parallels I included in this chapter's akuma gets to make a writing request. Make sure to leave your bet in the comments ;)
> 
> Next chapter should be out next tuesday, but that might change depending on the response this gets. Thanks for reading and, once again, feel free to point out any mistakes you might've spotted while reading.


	3. Tom & Sabine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> Third chapter is officially here and I'm honestly surprised with the fact that I've been able to stick to my schedule (life would be easier if I could program chapters to be posted like I do in brazilian fanfic websites)
> 
> This chapter is set immediately after the previous one, and is the last one explaining how things went "before" the first part of this series (it's the short period of time between the akuma fight and the whole running away deal)
> 
> As usual, let me know of any writing mistakes you might notice. Hope you like it!

Sabine Cheng knows that her daughter isn’t perfect. She loves her dearly, as every parent should; she wants the best for her and works hard to give her all the opportunities she can. But a mother shouldn’t be blind to her child’s faults.

Marinette is always late; she doesn’t always have her priorities right; she’s always worrying too much; she jumps from one obsession to another with no middle ground between them; she isn’t good at making close friends; she’s stubborn as a bull; she spends so much time trying to help others that she ends up prejudicing herself.

Marinette spent five years blatantly lying to the faces of everyone she knew and didn’t show an ounce of regret about it. No, not quite. Sabine knows what her daughter looks like when she’s feeling guilty about something, she’s seen the expression plenty of times, when the girl was inexcusably late, or left without a warning, or messed up something she couldn’t fix. When the TV transmission focuses on her face a second after Hawk Moth – no, Gabriel Agreste – hits the road running, she’s looking guilty alright, like she regrets something; regrets being found out.

It angers Sabine to no end that the girl thought she could get away with that. It makes her even angrier to know she would have gotten away with it if the akuma had been the slightest bit different. The woman makes sure to yell all that out loud to the TV screen.

“Or she would’ve been found out earlier, when the police came to knock on our door and ask us to recognize the body of Ladybug at the morgue.” Tom says bluntly. He allows the weight of his words to hang in the air and soothe his wife’s indignation as he walks around the table to come sit by her side on the couch. “Let’s just be grateful that we didn’t find out any other way, _chèrie_. She should’ve told us, but at least we know she’s alright. We can lecture her when she gets home.”

“You can’t know that. There’s a… a terrorist out there who’s been trying to get her for years! Who’s to say he won’t do it today? Plus, she might be hurt, or unable to get home, or… or…”

“Sabine…”

“No, Tom. She should never have decided to go fight akumas by herself. She should be at school, or at home; worrying about college applications, not about who she’s going to fight later tonight.” The woman stands to pace around the small living room, her husband’s eyes following her every move.

“We don’t even know if she _had_ a choice on the matter, _chèrie_. You’ve seen the powers those two wield, it doesn’t seem like something anyone can do.”

“Then she should’ve told us!” Sabine explodes, and throws her hands up in surrender. “She should have told us, so I-”

“So what? What would you have done? What _could we_ do about it? Don’t think for a second that I like that my daughter is throwing herself at danger with a yo-yo as her best weapon every two or three days, Sabine! She probably didn’t tell us because she knew exactly what we would have done, which was to forbid her to keep doing it.”

The petite woman doesn’t have a response. Tom isn’t the kind to explode easily. His stature might make him look threatening to strangers, but his personality is quite the opposite of menacing. Then again, she isn’t the type either. Every time something bothered her, Sabine tried to solve the problem as calmly and swiftly as possible, either by talking it out or by spending lengthy periods of time thinking of a solution.

The couple tried to pass along those qualities to Marinette, to teach her to be kind, to be patient, to think before acting and always try to make the world a better place, but they were never really sure they had succeeded. Maybe, if she was willing to risk her own life for the lives of the people of Paris, they had succeeded too much. – if such a thing was even possible.

“Well, if anything, I’m glad we raised her well enough to become the city’s most beloved superhero.” She says, at last, moving to sit back down beside her husband. Tom wraps a comforting arm around her shoulders and hums in agreement.

They weren’t heartless. Ladybug saved them as much as Marinette did, and they were grateful for that. They always held her in high esteem, despite not knowing who she really was. And they wouldn’t love their daughter any less now that they knew of her fondness for extreme sports such as kicking akumas in the face.

Their attention shifts when the transmission on TV changes. It was showing the akuma victim being helped by police officers, still on the street where Ladybug and Chat Noir were standing moments before. Currently, it attempted to properly show what had to be another akuma: a giant woman dressed like your stereotypical Greek goddess, but whose toga was bright blue and completely covered with a green feather-shaped pattern; her skin had turned a lighter shade of blue and she had green peacock feathers on her back, except the blue circles had been replaced by eyes.

“How does she stand seeing eyesores like this four times a week is my biggest question right now. No wonder no one suspected Agreste was Hawk Moth, he’d never become an accomplished fashion designer with these.” Tom mutters, immediately being shushed by Sabine, who’s trying to hear the reporter.

_“We’re just getting word from viewers on social media that the new akuma calls herself_ Argus, the hundred eyed giant _and that she seems to be searching for Ladybug and Chat Noir. The whereabouts of the superheroes is still unknown, but-”_

“Tom, we have to find them!” Sabine suddenly shouts

“What?”

“She’s specifically looking for them to take them to Hawk Moth. I can’t just let my daughter out there facing danger alone! We have to find them before she does!”

Tom loves his wife and her passion for helping others – the same she apparently passed on to Marinette – but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to put himself in the middle of an akuma attack just because she asked him to.

“ _Chèrie_ , I appreciate your sentiment, but don’t you think it’s a little too dangerous…?”

“That’s exactly why we must help! Plus, the akuma is just looking for them, she hasn’t even destroyed anything yet, it’s probably safe for civilians.”

Tom Dupain also knows a lost battle when he sees one.

“Alright, then. Should I get the car?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how ooc this chapter was but I hope it wasn't too much (in which I know how to write abusive parents but not good parents)
> 
> The next few chapters feature some characters that are more popular than the last four. Can you guess who's next?
> 
> Next chapter will be on Friday, following the rule of one chapter every three days.
> 
> Don't forget to let me know if you spotted writing mistakes somewhere in this chapter.  
> Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!


	4. Alya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here it is: the fourth chapter of the story, aka the one in wich characters start doing things that actually move the plot (shocking, I know).
> 
> And incredibly on time too! I mean, it is currently 0:18 a.m. in Lisbon as I'm writing this.  
> Okay, okay, I'll admit that it isn't friday where I live - yet. I just realized that I'll be busy all day tomorrow but I really wanted to post this, so here we are.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it and let me know what you think in the comments!

Alya Césaire might not have been the class president when she was still in Collège Françoise Dupont – and she’ll be the first to say that her then-best-friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, was the most competent class president they could’ve had – but that doesn’t mean she can’t act responsibly when the situation demands. Especially since she got into lycée and the girl she thought was her best friend got elected for class president, only to dump all her responsibilities on Alya and live like a queen on her throne of lies.

Yeah, maybe she’s a bit salty over Lila taking advantage of her, but that’s beyond the point. _The point_ _is_ : her then-best-friend, the competent class president, brilliant designer, natural leader, and do-gooder extraordinaire, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is the local superhero known as Ladybug. That’s the type of situation that calls for a meeting, and a meeting calls for Alya’s “class presidential skills”.

Looking back, she can’t help but feel like she shouldn’t be surprised. All the clues leading to Marinette’s “extra-curricular akuma-fighting hobby” where right there, like the pieces of her sisters’ puzzles, scattered all over the floor of their room. She just never bothered to put them together. Regrettably, she came to realize she committed the same mistake more than once.

(Maybe “salty” wasn’t the right word to describe how she felt about Lila. More like “bitter”.)

So, the meeting. Alya takes the reins of the group chat after Marinette and Adrien say their goodbyes – she knows it would be worse if they hadn’t said anything, but her eyes burn when she looks at their last texts – and sends a few messages to set up a meeting with everyone to brainstorm a plan of action over lunch.

Nino recommends they meet at the park by the Dupain-Cheng boulangerie, but Max states that it’s just a matter of time until Ladybug’s identity becomes widely known and the place becomes full of people interested in getting their own scoop of gossip. Chloé then notifies the chat that she got an empty suite at the hotel for them to use for a day.

It’s smart move from her part, though Alya never doubted Chloé was clever – lazy and spoiled, yes, but not stupid. What surprises the journalist is the private texts the mayor’s daughter sends her.

**_QB:_ ** _do you have a way to contact the Dupain-Chengs?_

**_QB:_ ** _I don’t think they’ll want to stay in their house once people find out where they live, so my daddy is offering them a suite in the hotel, free of cost for the next month or so_

**_QB:_ ** _of course, I had nothing to do with it_

**_RR:_ ** _Who are you and what have you done to the real Chloé Bourgeois????_

**_QB:_ ** _ugh_

**_QB:_ ** _it’s been years, Césaire. People change. Get over it._

**_QB:_ ** _that and I spent entirely too much time with Dupain-Cheng_

**_QB:_ ** _she tends to rub off on people_

Alya was in no position to contest that argument, as much as she disliked Chloé. She had never lost contact with Marinette after she transferred, but she didn’t keep track of who the girl was hanging out with. If anything, it only made sense for Chloé to stick around people she knew in a new school, which meant Marinette and Adrien.

Still, she has the sensibility to not call Tom and Sabine mere hours after they find out their daughter is not only a superhero, but also on the run. Instead, she sets a reminder on her phone to call them the following morning, so they will – hopefully – be more receptive to the news.

Alya informs Chloé that she will forward the offer to the Dupain-Chengs and verifies she still has an hour before the meeting at the hotel. It’s got to be the influence of Ladybug’s luck that this whole mess is happening during a Saturday, when she’s free from both school and her sisters.

She decides she’s still got time to read the dozens of private texts Nino sent her and scrolls up to the first. It’s from when the news broke, hours earlier.

**_Ca:_ ** _ayla_

**_Ca:_ ** _alya_

**_Ca:_ ** _u awake_

**_Ca:_ ** _theres an akuma saying they can detransform miraculous holders_

**_Ca:_ ** _pls tell me u just saw what I saw_

Alya had been asleep, like most sensible people are at five a.m. on a Saturday, but her phone went off with an akuma alert, and she got up to try and make sense of what was happening. Though this time, she had to do it through TV, as much as she could with the dreadful limited angles, at least.

The teen hadn’t known Hawk Moth would show up in person, or that the akuma he created could detransform Miraculous wielders – probably why he needed to be there personally, she thought – but the moment Ladybug pulled the man into the range of the akuma’s powers, she knew some serious shit was about to go down.

She didn’t even register Nora’s complaint about her breaking a mug full of coffee in the middle of the living room. All that went through her mind was that she knew all the people on the screen with the exception of the akumatized victim, who was no longer under Hawk Moth’s effects due to his detransformation. Ladybug and Chat Noir – or rather, Marinette and Adrien – seemed equally dumbfounded, as neither tried to give chase to Gabriel Agreste when he stood, called for his transformation, and scampered away.

**_Ca:_ ** _theyre just gonna let him go???_

**_Ca:_ ** _he was right there y didn’t they take his miraculous_

**_Ca:_ ** _ok I get it Adirne must b feeling like shit after that_

**_Ca:_ ** _I know I would_

**_Ca:_ ** _r they leaving?_

**_Ca:_ ** _theyre leaving_

**_Ca:_ ** _do u think theyre okay?_

**_Ca:_ ** _alya r my dudes ok?_

Three years dating and sometimes Alya still finds it in her to be surprised by Nino’s sheer eloquence when he’s sleep deprived and a pile of nerves at the same time.

Ladybug and Chat Noir called for their transformations after Hawk Moth left, and for one of the only times in known history, broke protocol and didn’t even spare a word to the akumatized victim. That was Alya’s confirmation that they weren’t okay, not emotionally at least. She took the fact that they retreated to the same direction as a confirmation that they were going to make up a plan to deal with their new, much more worrying problem.

**_Ca:_ ** _I cant believe hawk moth already created another akuma_

**_Ca:_ ** _they say its looking for where theyre hiding_

**_Ca:_ ** _well at least we know theyre good at that_

**_Ca:_ ** _ill text them to see if theyre ok ttyl_

****

Around two hours later, she got added to a group chat by Ladybug, full of people she did and didn’t know at the same time, though the reciprocal was true. Nino’s most recent messages were sent after Ladybug’s last text, and it shows.

**_Ca:_ ** _hey_

**_Ca:_ ** _u ok?_

**_Ca:_ ** _u haven’t been answering my texts_

**_Ca:_ ** _oh and sorry abt my freak out earlier_

**_RR:_ ** _it’s ok, I was freaking out too_

**_RR:_ ** _yeah, I’m ok, I’m just a little…_

**_RR:_ ** _in shock, I guess?_

**_RR:_ ** _Mari and Adrien were Ladybug and Chat Noir all along, they chose us to help them against Hawk Moth, who happens to be Gabriel Agreste, who is probably still looking for them if he thinks they’re still hiding in Paris, except they’re not because they’re probably leaving the country right now and we have no idea where they’re going or if they’re physically ok because I know for sure that they’re not psychologically and emotionally alright???_

**_Ca:_ ** _was all that a single question bc I’m not sure I know the answer_

**_Ca:_ ** _look babe_

**_Ca:_ ** _we know those two, have known them forever, they’ll be fine_

**_Ca:_ ** _Adrien faced his father before, and we called Mari everyday ladybug even when we didn’t know_

**_RR:_ ** _yeah_

**_RR:_ ** _but I’m still worried as heck and this selfish part in my brain is still pissed that they never told me when I’ve spent days and nights trying to figure it out_

**_RR:_ ** _logically I know that I lost the right to Mari’s trust when the whole Lila ordeal took place_

**_RR:_ ** _but it still kinda hurts_

**_Ca:_ ** _I know_

**_Ca:_ ** _if you don’t recall I was part of the “whole lila ordeal” too_

**_Ca:_ ** _the best we can do to make up for it is help them by finding a way to throw that Agreste asshole in prison forever_

**_Ca:_ ** _u with me in this?_

**_RR:_ ** _hell yeah, I’m with you_

Alya looks up at the clock. Time to go to a meeting and plot the destruction of the person who’s been ruining Parisian lives for years.

She’s always wanted to be the one in charge of a class meeting anyway.


	5. Chloé

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> The fifth chapter is here! I honestly loved writing this (writing not-entirely-good characters is too much fun)  
> I don't really have much to say about this one other than you get a glimpse of the "Lila Ordeal" :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

Chloé Bourgeois might be a bitch, but at least she doesn’t try to deny it. There are worse adjectives for an eighteen-year-old girl to carry. Vanished, for instance, is an adjective she particularly dreads right now.

If the 18-year-old Parisian who carried that adjective were reachable, Chloé would look her in the eye and say “Gods damnit, Marinette.” But of course, she isn’t, hence the adjective.

Chloé has to admit it’s a bit frustrating to know an important detail of the heroes’ whereabouts, but not being allowed to tell anyone about it; not even Ladybug’s parents, who happen to be really kind people towards her, even though she keeps not answering their questions. They’re staying at the hotel for a month, during which the Tom & Sabine boulangerie is to remain closed, but that doesn’t stop them from giving pastries to the teens who meet in an empty suite to plot the destruction of Gabriel Agreste every Sunday afternoon.

“You need some source of energy for those scheming brains of yours and take-out is not a healthy option.” Sabine Cheng would say while offering each of them a paper bag with at least three different pastries. She would be answered with a chorus of “thanks, Mme. Cheng” and Chloé would bite back a retort on how those sugary, buttery, and dairy-filled pastries weren’t healthy either.

Then she would eat them anyway because they taste fucking great. _And_ _then_ she’d reluctantly find herself looking forward to the next time she got a chance to eat another of those croissants, and she’d wonder why she never bothered to stop by the bakery when she’d still had the chance.

Chloé was never _friends_ with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Not in lycée, at least, and absolutely not in collège. But since Lila came into the picture, their rivalry had paled in importance compared to their “common enemy”. Rossi made Marinette her primary target, yes, but Chloé didn’t like to share and Dupain-Cheng was _her_ primary target. After she witnessed Lila trying to kiss Adrien in what was definitely labeled sexual harassment, she’d had enough.

Teaming up and trying to dethrone Lila was a painfully exhausting process, not just because the girl was a freaking good actress with hundreds of excuses and backup stories up her sleeves, but also because everyone _wanted_ to believe her. Marinette once said she couldn’t even find it in herself to blame their classmates properly.

“Everyone wants to believe the pretty lies, even if they’re too good to be true, because life is sweeter that way. I can’t blame them for wanting life to be easy”, she said. Chloé, in return, scoffed.

“You can blame them for being naïve, then. Though even that would be putting it lightly.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and asked:

“And what could _you_ possibly suggest as a solution to the problem, o, wisest queen of truths?”

“Leave them.” Fast, easy, and simple, just the way she liked it.

“What?” Marinette’s disbelief towards her words was obvious, if not packed with outrage. Chloé shrugged and leaned back on her desk, mindlessly pushing away Sabrina’s books until they fell off the table.

“Leave them. We’re better than this. We don’t have to sit there and take it, or torture ourselves by watching them get spoon-fed those utterly ridiculous stories. We could transfer and watch from afar as they crash and burn. Maybe even light a match to feed the fire here and there.”

“But- that’s- they don’t- how could you possibly propose something like this?! Have you no shame? We can’t just let Lila have her way and win!”

“I’m not suggesting we do, Dupain-Cheng, I’m just suggesting we let her lose while we get out unscathed. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you stopped trying to debunk her fairy tales lately. She threatened you, didn’t she?” The girl’s silence was enough of an answer for Chloé, who also took it as a permission to go on.

“Staying here and trying to fight her is going to do more evil than good for both of us. She’ll destroy your image, the trust people had in you, and whatever else you have left. And after she’s done, she’ll come for me. I’m not having any of that crap. Which is why I say we leave and attack her from afar, where she won’t be able to reach us.”

“But if she can’t reach us, doesn’t that mean we can’t reach her?”

“ _Eh_ … not exactly. Between you, me and Adrikins, I think we have quite a good network.”

The other girl stared at her for a few seconds, before giving in with a low groan and turning to sit on the desk behind her.

“At least you’re not telling me to take the high road, I guess.”

Chloé frowned.

“Who told you that?”

“Adrien. He said it was enough that the two of us knew Lila was lying. According to him, she wasn’t hurting anyone, and one day her lies would come back to bite her in the butt, so we just had to wait.”

Chloé scoffed again, then drank some of the water from her bottle because all that scoffing was bound to take a toll on her throat and she had the feeling Marinette wasn’t anywhere near done yet. She was starting to regret taking this long to ask for information from the Asian girl. There was a long way to go before she managed to be in the loop the way she wanted to.

“Now, that’s a whole load of bull. I always knew Adrikins was spineless when it came to confrontation, but I never thought it would be that bad. Guess I’ll have to give him some classes on that, or else he’ll be stuck living with his father forever.” Marinette smiled conspiratorially at her comment and the blonde mentally filed that information away. Having Dupain-Cheng in the “Gabriel Agreste is a terrible father” movement could come in handy later; she was good at planning things, which meant she was inevitably good at scheming.

“Regardless. If Adrikins thinks Rossi isn’t hurting anyone when she’s threatening people in the locker rooms, then…”

“Oh, he doesn’t know about that” Marinette interrupted her frantically. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell him.”

“Are you kidding me, Dupain-Cheng?!” Chloé threw her hands up in mock surrender. “That’s not the sort of information you keep to yourself! It’s incriminating stuff we can use later.”

“Well yeah, if you mean incriminating _to me_.”

Marinette had something in her expression Chloé couldn’t quite place. A mix of anger, frustration, disappointment, and annoyance directed at literally no one else. It was the kind of look one only managed to disclose after concluding that the one to blame for the current shitty situation was the universe itself.

The blonde rolled her eyes and groaned in her own exasperation. Dealing with Dupain-Cheng was draining specifically because of that sort of stuff. She was too much of a goody-two-shoes to blame anyone but herself. It was actually a wonder that she blamed Hawk Moth for akuma attacks when she functioned as if she was at fault for everything bad that ever happened in the world.

“Please, elaborate. How could _that_ possibly incriminate you?”

“Chameleon.”

“Pardon?”

“An akuma came for me and I ran away from it. Not too long after that, Lila was akumatized into Chameleon.”

Chloé took it back, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was _actually_ capable of blaming herself for an akumatization. She groaned louder. _Someone, please, kill me, before it gets any worse_.

“It’s actually part of the reason why Adrien asked me to take the high road. He said it wasn’t worth it to confront her if she was just going to get akumatized, and… well, I was the reason why she got akumatized in the first place, so…”

_Mon Dieu_ , after that talk was done, Chloé and Adrien would have some serious _words_. Then she would set up an intensive training for him to _grow a fucking spine_.

She paused for a moment to rub her temples, careful to not disturb the sunglasses on her head because that would absolutely ruin her hair and her day was already stressful as it was. She made a mental note to schedule a mani-pedi and a massage for later that afternoon. Maybe pestering Lila on social media would make her feel better, the brat surely deserved a taste of her own medicine…

Wait.

“If she was the one threatening you, then why was she akumatized? I know _I_ feel great after I make someone else feel like shit.” That gained her a glare from the Dupain-Cheng, but she waved it off nonchalantly. Like she previously stated, Chloé was a bitch, but at least she didn’t pretend she wasn’t.

“I don’t know. I admit I also found it kind of weird, but I couldn’t come up with anything.”

The mayor’s daughter filed away that information as well. She decided to pay more attention to Lila for the rest of the school year in an attempt to figure out what was her deal. If there was anything remotely incriminating about the girl, she would know, and she would be sure to use it when the time was right.

“Anyway. Back to the plan: So, there’s this private lycée Kagami Tsurugi is going to attend. I’m sure we can convince Adrien’s father to send him there if we give him enough good reasons for it…”

“Are you suggesting I also attend this lycée?”

“Yes, why?”

Silence.

“ _Right_ , you’re just a baker’s daughter…”

“Hey!”

“… but with your previous achievements and portfolio, I’m sure you can get a fairly good scholarship. I can even get my mother in it to help.”

“I would rather not.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Convincing Gabriel Agreste was a whole new level of scheming, but at least it distracted both of them enough that they didn’t have time to pay attention to Lila’s antics for the rest of the school year, which brought them closer to her inevitable downfall. Just because they had a plan to take her out of the picture for good, it didn’t mean they enjoyed watching her go on with the typical bullshit.

Fast forward three years or so, and you find them somewhat getting along. The plan went marvelously well, by the way.

Chloé would never call Marinette her friend – there was still too much bad blood between them for that – but they had one or two enemies, a goal and Adrien’s friendship in common, which was enough for the blonde to start calling Marinette by her first name when they were three months into their new school.

They’re acquaintances, for all effects. Close enough that people in the lycée see them, Adrien and Kagami as a group, which none of them ever bothered to deny, but still.

The mayor’s daughter could never stand someone who was as much of a goody-two-shoes as Marinette was for too long. Not that she ever met anyone who could beat such an absurd level of goodness. That was probably impossible, anyway. Dupain-Cheng could never hurt a fly, which only made the whole “Lila ordeal” even more ridiculous than it already was.

Chloé supposes that’s about to change now, because Marinette’s main adjective went from “goody-two-shoes” to “vanished” the moment she sent her last text, and no amount of wondering or trying to help her parents to find some comfort is going to change that.

It’s about time she starts scheming again, this time with the newly founded “Gabriel Agreste is a terrible father (and also a terrorist)” movement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think in the comments and, once again, feel free to point out any mistakes you might've spotted.


	6. Marianne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the fragments of the kaleidoscope finaly catches sight of our heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I know I'm almost late with this chapter, but I swear it wasn't my fault... I mean, it kinda was, but it was mostly the virus' fault, y'know? Thing is I was enjoying online classes (for oncein my freaking life) and I got distracted and forgot I had other responsibilities, even if this story is a voluntary responsibility.
> 
> Special detail about this chapter: I have never been to Europe, so all and any descriptions of physical places in this chapter are based off of Google Street View and Google Maps and are very likely innaccurate.  
> I have also never been to Tibet and I have little experience with travelling by plane, especially to remote places like Darchen (which, again, I've only ever seen through Google Street View), so I don't really know how international flights work there, but I took some liberties based on probabilities and assumptions.  
> That being said, please, don't take the travel itinerary in this chapter too seriously.
> 
> Anyhow. I hope you like this! And, please, leave a comment if you find any grammar mistakes.

Marianne Lenoir is not an enthusiastic fan of travelling. She’s lived in Paris most of her life, only leaving for a short amount of time when her efforts in the resistance against the Nazis proved mostly futile. But she came back as soon as the war was over and stayed for the following seven decades.

If anything, her previous experience taught her that leaving the city you love the most because it’s no longer safe for you is a wise decision. Marinette’s plan is a good one, only solidifying the reasons why Fu chose her to be Ladybug, but it will demand huge sacrifices from all parts. Thankfully, Adrien’s there to support her when things become too much to bear alone, and she will most certainly be there for him as well.

“They’re both good kids” Fu comments, as if reading her thoughts, and Marianne hums in agreement as glances at the direction both teens disappeared to.

They had been waiting for the train when the young girl turned to her partner and urgently uttered “we need to talk” after a seemingly long mental argument with herself. Neither of the elders tried to stop them as they went to stand near a column not too far away so they could talk with an illusion of privacy. If their hushed yet serious tones were anything to go by, Marianne was willing to bed they were discussing their relationship.

“Did they already have any sort of relationship?” She asks the old Guardian, who’s taken upon himself to watch over Marinette’s briefcase and its precious contents while the current Guardian is busy.

“They knew each other out of the mask” he answers without looking at her. “Actually, if I remember well, they met in and out of the mask on the same day. They seemed to consider each other close friends as civilians, and even closer as defenders of the city, despite not knowing who their partner was until Ouroboros.”

“Makes enough sense if they were trusting each other with their lives. Nothing resembling young love, though?”

Fu chuckles at her suggestion, then shrugs.

“I do not know if they are to go that way. Not all ladybugs and black cats had that type of relationships, and I try not to pry on their personal lives. Maybe you should direct that type of question at André Glacier.”

“Maybe I should, but I have the feeling that we won’t be seeing him anytime soon.” Marianne held her purse strap tighter, over aware of the documents and tickets that would guarantee the safety of both the Miraculous holders and Paris.

The route they managed to put together in such short notice was complicated but would serve their purposes well enough. Marinette concluded that leaving Paris as soon as possible was their number one priority, and they ended up purchasing train tickets to Brussels.

From there, they’d catch a plane to Lhasa, Tibet, where they’d spend the rest of the night. The next day, they’d catch a plane to the Ngari Gunsa Airport – which was a bit of backtracking in relation to Lhasa, but Gunsa didn’t take international flights – and then take a bus to Darchen, which would take an entire day and thus would demand they stay at a hotel for another night. By the third day of their trip, they’d take another bus to get to Mount Kailash, where the Temple of the Guardians was settled. Marianne grimaced as she thought about what Fu had said when they got to that point of the plan.

“The only way to get to the Temple is trough the stairs. Don’t be intimidated by how many there are, you’ll lose count of the steps before we’re even halfway there.”

“What do you mean?” Adrien had asked.

“Let’s just say there’s three kilometers worth of steps there.”

As healthy and athletic all the members of the party were, Fu and Marianne were still incredibly old, and the teens weren’t the most physically apt they could be –though Fu was betting that the monks would insist on training them in Shaolin Quan once they got to their destination – which meant that three kilometers of steps would be at the very least a long way to go.

Marianne’s attention snaps back to the present as Marinette and Adrien come back to where Fu and she are waiting, and the Great Guardian takes the briefcase holding the Miracle Box and the Grimoire. Neither of the heroes look particularly happy, but that isn’t unexpected due to the current situation as a whole; they do, however, look more relaxed than they did on the ride to Gare du Nord.

_Good_ , the older woman thinks, _if they figured out the first steps and communications, the rest should be smooth-sailing, or as smooth as it can be, at least_.

The reveal would likely change their relationship dynamics a little bit, for better or worse. Marianne’s own experience as a temporary Miraculous holder is enough for her to know that people wearing masks can and will show sides of their personalities that drastically clash with the one they usually show in their civilian lives. The differences between the personas can strain relationships to the point of truly putting them to the test. “Communication is key” might sound cliché, but she knows that being on the same page can do wonders for that sort of thing.

“Alright then kids, we still have fifteen minutes until the train is here and you two can use a distraction. Would you like to hear a story about how I tricked a bunch of Nazis into blowing up their own armory back in ’43?”

Marianne never had kids, let alone grandkids, and with her heart belonging to Fu and no one else, she never gave it much thought, though she supposes sharing stories of her youth with the new generation would be a fun part of it. The smiles she receives from Marinette and Adrien tell her she doesn’t need to have blood relations to have grandchildren of her own and do just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess quarantine is making me feel even more wanderlust than usual and that is being projected on this story. Not that I mind, writing about places I've never visited forces me to research these places and learn a bunch of trivia, like: Did you know Mount Kailash is sacred in four different religions? That's one religion more than Jerusalem.
> 
> ANYWAY, this chapter was difficult to write, and I don't even know why. Not as difficult as chapter 7 because I deleted that one four times. Probably has something to do with the fact that next chapter is the last one and I have mixed feelings about that. But, still, difficult. Even isolation isn't helping anymore, it's just making me feel smothered by my family.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. Next will be the last one of this section and will probably be out on Monday or Tuesday (depending on whether or not I start from scratch again).
> 
> Let me know your opinion in the comments and thanks for reading!


	7. Nino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino decides kaleidoscopes are stupid, because they never give you the full picture when you most need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I lived!  
> Sorry for the delay. I don't feel confortable sharing details, but basically a bunch of stuff happened, some people in my family got sick (damn you, covid-19, damn you), online university is almost as bad as real life university and I spent some time investing in creating digital art instead of writing my WIPs.
> 
> Anyhow, this is the last chapter in this story. Not sure I'll continue this, 'cause I have lots of ideas regarding how this could go, but not enough time to write them. Right now I'm workin on a few non-fictional works and something i hope to turn into my first published book, but I'll see if I manage to write another section of this series on my free time.
> 
> For now, though, I'll leave you to the story. Once again, if you pot typos, grammar or coherence mistakes, please let me know in the comments so I can fix them. Hope you enjoy!

Nino Lahiffe almost forgot exactly how serious his friends can be, which wasn’t very smart of him, considering he knew about half of them for a very, very long time. Alix, Kim and Chloé had been around since all of them were literal toddlers; Juleka, Nathaniel, Rose and Max since they got into Françoise Dupont; and everyone else since their last year of Collège.

Fact is, when he arrives at their weekly meeting at the hotel – Nino is sure Chloé just claimed that suite as hers by now – things aren’t anywhere near what he expected. He looks around the room while trying to get a grasp of the situation and is surprised to see Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng sitting by his friends in front of the TV.

Luka, Alix and Kim are sitting on the floor, which isn’t unusual, but Luka has his guitar on his lap and doesn’t even have his hands on it, which is. Kagami, Max and Mylène are occupying the bigger couch and Marinette’s parents, the smaller one. Alya and Chloé are standing behind them and whispering to each other while simultaneously watching the TV intently.

Nino approaches the two girls and whispers:

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Agreste got caught.” Chloé replies with no small amount of venom in her words. “Sancoeur delivered a bunch of evidence and a list of possible hiding locations at the police station last week, and it paid off today. Seems like he ran to Versailles, like King Louis XVI or whatever.”

“Sancoeur is probably using that to shorten her sentence. She can’t deny being an accomplice, but he was her boss, and he might’ve threatened her. The jury will take that and her willingness to help into consideration.” Alya adds, earning herself two pairs of raised eyebrows. “What? I’ve been into investigative journalism lately.”

“There he is.” Alix’s voice interrupts them, and they look back to the screen to see the elder Agreste’s arrival in Paris.

Nino is more than just a little satisfied to notice the man looks worse for wear than the last time they saw him, about a month before.

After sending Argus to hunt Ladybug and Chat Noir, Hawkmoth had the same idea as the heroes, meaning he did his best to disappear. Unfortunately for him, he decided to trust Argus – or rather Nathalie Sancoeur – a bit too much. About as soon as Hawkmoth called back his akuma, the woman went and betrayed him.

The news coverage goes over all the facts while showing footage from the attack by Ouroboros, the consequential identity reveal, the subsequent akuma attack, and finally Gabriel Agreste himself, surrounded by the police force upon his arrival at the City of Lights. A significant number of reporters tries to get answers to questions or reactions out of him, only to be told by an officer that there will be a press conference regarding the case within the next two days.

“Hey, Alya, shouldn’t you be there as well?” Kim asks, turning to face her. She scoffs in response, a reaction that resembles Chloé’s too much for comfort, in Nino’s humble opinion.

“Nah. I’m not approaching that man with a six-foot pole. And even if I wanted to, my parents and my sister made me promise to stay away from him, especially since there’s _no way he doesn’t know_ I ran the Ladyblog.” She pauses to consider the TV for a moment. “Though I can’t say I’d be opposed to gong near him to land a punch square on his face. Look at him. What a tool.”

“Back off, Césaire, I called dibs on that already”, Chloé interrupts, causing several protests to come from the other people in the room who also called dibs on punching Gabriel Agreste, Nino included.

“Hey dudette, I called dibs on that three years ago, on Adrien’s fifteenth birthday, remember?”

“Now, children, let’s not fight over that”, Sabine’s voice rings loud over the arguments, successfully silencing them. “I’m sure that if anyone has the right to punch the super-terrorist, it’s Adrien, but since he isn’t available, no one is going to do it.”

Her husband nods in agreement beside her, before adding:

“Not to mention we have no idea if he’s still in possession of the Miraculous or not.”

That serves the purpose of diverting the topic to something else, however generating a palpable sense of unease in the room.

“Does he still have the Miraculous?” Kagami asks quietly. Beside her, Max pushes his glasses up and answers:

“It’s unlikely. He would probably have used it to try and escape again if he had it. I suppose Mlle. Sancoeur stole it from him on the first chance she got, and he concluded it wasn’t worth it pursuing her, instead favoring his escape plan.”

“But then, does that mean Nathalie has it?” Alix inquires.

“Probably not, the police would’ve taken it from her. And if she hadn’t presented it, they probably wouldn’t have believed her when she told them she wanted to help with the investigation”, Luka reasons.

“So, it’s with the police? What if someone else takes it?” Mylène looks ready to panic as she stands from the couch to face the others.

“Hang on, I’ll ask Sabrina if she knows anything about this”, Chloé replies, already pulling out her phone and dialing the other girl’s number. The suite grows quiet again as the ex-miraculous wielders and Marinette’s parents wait for a response.

“Hi, Sabrina, sorry to bother you.” Nino almost snorts upon realizing he’s never heard Chloé say that sentence before in her life, earning himself a glare from the blonde. “It’s just that I was watching the news with Césaire and she had asked where Hawkmoth’s Miraculous ended up, you know? We reasoned that it was probably with the police, but she wanted confirmation for her blog.”

The mayor’s daughter goes quiet while listening to Sabrina’s reply, and Nino has to give it to her that she’s quite a good actress when she puts her mind to it. If Chloé had slightly different priorities she could’ve taken Lila’s title hands down.

“Oh, you don’t know… yes, please, we’d appreciate it if you could ask your dad.”

Alya frowns, certainly wondering about both Chloé’s sudden respectfulness and M. Raincomprix’s moral integrity regarding his job as a police officer. Nino catches her eye and shrugs. He knows just as much as her about this.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” The change in Chloé’s tone of voice catches their attention once again. “Pardon me, I thought I heard you say…” quite a few pairs of eyes widen at the blonde’s increasingly panicked expression. “Sabrina, Sabrina, please tell me I heard it wrong… _what do you mean Rossi has it?!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger (though I like to call it an open ending), and no, I'm not sorry :)
> 
> Also, this chapter was slightly inspired by the poem "Him", which goes:  
> Ah, there he is.  
> That motherfucker.  
> What a tool.
> 
> Unfortunately I wasn't able to find out who was the original author of this masterpiece of a poem. Whoever they are, I thank them for this.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading this, and for your comments, kudos and continuous support! You all mean the world to me and writing this was the most fun I've had in a long time. Really, thank you, and I'll see you in the comments.


End file.
